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A campervan is an alternative vehicle for travelling or camping that is sometimes referred to as a “motorhome” or simply a “camper”. Geographically speaking, “RV” is the preferred term in the US that stands for Recreational vehicle, while “motorhome” is the common term used in Germany. Today the terms campervan and motorhome are preferred in Australia and New Zealand, while RV remains a popular term in the US.

Campervans vary in sizes

Size definitely matters; this applies to travelling with it and essentially when choosing for a campervan to rent. Campervan countries strictly impose vehicle capacity. Travellers and renters alike should not exceed the maximum number of people allowed in both regular vehicles and campervans. Sizes of campervans are regarded with the term “Berth”, by definition is a bed on a ship, or a passenger’s stateroom. The common berth sizes are 2 Berth, 4 berth and 6 berth. The number specifies the number of people to sleep in a particular camper.

Some companies offer 2.5 berth or 3 berth models. Many people are confused with these models. 2.5 berth campers simply means that it can sleep 2 adults and a child, while 3 berth of course imply 3 adults to sleep in it. All campers have storage cabins for luggage. Renting these types of models is definitely fine as long as the numbers are not exceeded. Some renters choose bigger vehicles to give more room to move, more luggage spaces or both, this strategy is ideal for travelers bringing in heavy or large amount of luggage than the usual.

All campers are equipped with a sleeping facility, 2 berth campers usually come with a convertible bed while 4 berth and 6 berth campers are usually built with double bed or beds that are immovable. All campers also come equipped with basic facilities of a regular vehicle like radio air-conditioner and seatbelts. Child seats should be secured when renting a campervan because some models cannot be fitted with child restraints.

When it comes to the kitchen facility, 2 berth vehicles may or may not be equipped with it, but campervans for hire commonly include a mini kitchen that is strategically designed to be convenient, thus without affecting the sleeping facility or the performance of the vehicle. Kitchen facilities among 4 berth vehicles and up are better, these models may also include toilet and shower for more convenience, DVD and TV and even awning.

Source by Sydney Liang

When we left off last, we were safe and sound in Tacoma and the Christmas holidays were fast approaching. I promised you that we would let you know how the RV handles freezing weather.

Lessons in Cold Weather RVing:

It was December, but temps below freezing in Tacoma are rare. So, when the temperature the first night there got down into the 20s (-9 C) we were totally taken off guard.

Here's what happened:

• The hose connecting us to water froze
• The plastic pipe leading to the fresh water tank froze
• The gas / propane furnace ran most of the night

I need to tell you, our Rexhall Aerbus is a good quality motorhome and all the pipes are enclosed and access is through a sealed exterior bin. We thought that would be enough if the temps got down to freezing or just below. Truth is, had is only been a couple of degrees below freezing, we probably would have been OK. The problem was that it got more than just a little below freezing!

Lesson # 1 – How to Keep Pipes From Freezing

If your water connections or any of your water lines are exposed to the outside, even temperatures just below freezing can freeze and crack your lines. Even if your lines and fill points are enclosed in bins or calculations, if those areas are not heavily insulated and heated, just having the sewer line or water hose coming up through an access hole can bring in the freezing temps and problems … as we found out first hand.

Our simple solution was to wrap a heat tape with a built in temperature sensor (about $ 20.00 US) around the exposed pipes and valves. We got it from the local hardware store. It's the kind mean for outside or crawl space water lines. It looks like an electrical extension cord that has no plug at the end.

When we are in an area that has possible freezing temps, we just plug the heat tape into our full hookup power box via an extra extension cord (heavy duty) and the sensor takes care of turning on when needed.

That's all we needed to keep the bin and connections from freezing. We do not connect the water hose in freezing temperatures, we just fill the fresh water tank as needed. If you were staying in one place for the winter, you could use another heat tape and some insulation wrapped around it on the hose to keep your hose from freezing too.

For boondocking or dry camping, you could also stuff the compartment full of insulation or heavily insulate your exterior water lines to keep them from freezing in all but the coldest of temps.

Lesson # 2 – Heat Guns and Plastic Water Lines Do not Mix

My dad had a heat gun used for heat shrink on wires and windows. We decided to use that to heat up the pipes and get the water pump working again.

BIG MISTAKE!

Well, using the heat gun was a good idea, we just did not know how warm and how fast it could work. Instead of just slowly warming the whole compartment, I made the mistake of blowing directly on the plastic water lines.

In less than two minutes, I had heated up the plastic water line so well that it became soft and with the water line pressurized from the pump … It formed a bubble just like bubble gum and popped.

I was lucky, my dad had just been remodeling his kitchen and had just the right size plastic water line on hand. So, all I had to do was finish thawing things out, slowly, and then fix the popped water line. That was just two fittings, about 8 inches of new plastic water line, the heat gun to warm the ends and it all screwed together in less than 30 minutes. Like I said, I was lucky to be where I had the tools and supplies to fix it myself.

It easily could have been a hundred hundred dollars of repairs if I had to have a repair shop do it.

In Conclusion: Motorhomes, 5th Wheels and other RVs can handle below freezing temperatures. You just need to use a little common sense and have a back up plan for when things do not work out.

• Do not let the colder weather stop you from enjoying your RV year round.
• Do test it's cold weather abilities close to home or family, just in case.
• Keep extra incandescent lights & insulation handy for backup & repairs
• Always thaw frozen pipes and tanks slowly – To fast and think can break

As we travel year round, we'll keep you up to date on what we learn (the hard way) and how you can avoid the same mistakes (the easy way).

Source by Wes Waddell

When December arrives, many RVers head home to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. During the winter months RVing slows down while people wait out the winter but the "snow bird RVer" has the luxury of heading south for the winter to enjoy the warmer temperatures in Florida, Arizona, and Mexico. The "snow birds" have discovered how to have the best of both worlds. They leave their extremely cold year round home and head south where they store and use their RV as a winter getaway home to enjoy the warmth of the South. These snow birds fly south to their RV park right after the holidays to enjoy the warm winters until the snow is gone in their northern home.

When the snow melts and it is time to leave their winter home, the snow bird RVer wants to leave their motorhome, fifth wheel or travel trailer protected with an RV slip cover that will keep their winter home clean and free from dust & dirt and dings & scratches. They want a storage cover that is water repellent and will protect their recreational vehicle from the occasional southern rain storms, but most importantly the "Snow bird" RVer needs to find a cover that can withstand the harsh UV rays of the sun that will destroy them RV's exterior while they are back home.

There are only two RV covers that can provide summer heat and UV protection for the motor home, fifth wheel, or travel trailer. All the rest will disintegrate from the extreme temperatures. A slip on dust cover (like the Traveler or the Poly Pro 1) will protect the RV for a while but it will be in shreds all around your trailer when you return. This type of cover can not stand up to the extreme heat that your RV will encounter while you are away. The three ply top / single ply sided covers (like the Poly Pro 3 Deluxe or the Expedition) claim to give all weather protection but they also will not be able to handle the heat. They may still be covering your RV when you get to your southern home but most likely only parts of the cover will be still covering your RV. If you invest your money in any of these covers you will be replacing the cover every year .

What you need is the protection of best cover that will not disintegrate after 6-8 months of exposure to UV rays. The two covers that can stand up to the heat are the Goldline RV cover and the PermaPRO RV cover. The Goldline RV Cover is made by Eevelle in Carlsbad, California. The Goldline cover is a made to order RV cover that comes in two colors: desert tan or silver cloud gray. Since it is a semi-custom, made to order motorhome or trailer cover it will take up to 4 weeks before it can be delivered to your southern address. This Goldline trailer cover is rated the # 1 RV cover by customers and dealers alike. These RV storage covers are made of a strong yet supple fabric that will outlast all other RV covers. The Goldline cover is made of a water resistant extra plush Tru-Weave fabric with a Durapel finish that provides super duty UV protection and the Goldline cover is backed with the longest, best 5 year warranty.

The PermaPro RV cover is distributed by Classic Accessories in Kent, Washington. The PermaPRO cover is made of the newest extra-strength ripstop fabric, the first RV cover fabric to claim to be tear resistant. Not only is it tear resistant but it also repels water, protects against sun damage by blocking the UV rays, and even provides snow protection if needed. The PermaPRO cover is also available for the extra tall RV that stands a little taller than the usual 9 ft RV. An extra height RV cover is required by those Class A and 5th wheel RVs that stand up to11 ft tall. The PermaPRO cover, like the lower end RV covers, gives your RV dirt, dust, and scratch protection, and it is protected by a 4 year warranty.

As winter slowly melts away and the warmer days of spring arrive, the time will come for the Snow birds to begin to prepare to fly back north to the confines of your year round home. Remember if you want to truly give your trailer the best RV cover with the best UV protection, you will need to spend a few bucks more and purchase the Goldline RV cover or the PermaPRO RV cover. Those are the only two RV trailer covers that will still be protecting your RV when you return to your winter stomping grounds next year.

Source by Mary Speir

What to buy? Where to put it, How to mount it? Yes: I’m talking about the correct position and way to place a TV in your caravan. Here is a definitive guide to buying and fitting a TV into your caravan or motorhome.

Installing a TV in your caravan or motorhome is different from installing or mounting a TV on the wall of your home due to the lack of space and the wall material is lass stronger than the brickwork which you would normally use to fix your home TV too.

First we have to consider how much space you have to place a TV in your caravan. You need to consider the viewing position of your TV viewers and also the proximity of cooking devices. We suggest a flat surface on the side of a cupboard or an exterior wall. You must also consider where the power points are and if your caravan or motorhome has a pre fitted aerial how close is this to your mounting point.

Now that you have determined your ideal location for your caravan or motorhome you have a rough idea of the space you have and you can now think about buying a TV. We recommend that you buy a specialist 12v or 24v TV which are designed for caravan or motorhome use. Many have DVD players and come with Freeview as standard. If your TV has a DVD player this could impact of the location you place your TV as many DVD players load from the side and you will need enough room at the side to load the disc.

We have an Avtex L215DR 21.5″ 12v TV which we will mount and comes with M4 holes in the back which will fit any standard mounting bracket. We bought a Svensen SV0.5 quick release fixed wall bracket as we wanted a wall bracket which would let us remove the TV easily from the wall when we were out of the caravan.

Place the bracket in the centre of the wall and use a spirit level to make sure that the bracket will be level and mark the holes you will need to drill and the top of the bracket. Drill the holes with the appropriate size of drill and check that the holes line up the the holes in the bracket. You cannot use normal screws to mount your TV so either use nuts and bolts to secure the bracket to the wall or cupboard or use Cabinet Fixing Bolts. These open from the back when you screw them into the wall and this is the method that we used.

Position the bracket over the holes you have drilled and screw/bolt into place. Now you can fix the front plate of the bracket to the back of the TV and mount. As we are using a quick release fixed wall bracket, this makes it really easy to fit the two together as they have a quick release mechanism. Now you have fixed the TV to the wall you need to hide the wiring. We used some self-adhesive micro cable trunking to hide the wires from the TV to the plug and the wire from the TV to the aerial.

Now turn on your TV and enjoy, safe in the knowledge that it has been fixed correctly.

Source by R Maddocks